#taylour page | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

leafs-lover · 8 months

Text

Too Far Gone - The Contract

A/N: Can't write part 55 to save my life 😭 but we have another unedited bonus chapter, giving you a little glimpse into their life in the future. If you're not reading the fic, don't worry this is a stand alone piece.

Warnings: Smut (p in v, creampie), dirty talk, swearing, mentions of drinking, not really edited

Series masterlist

Word Count: 3100

Tia tried not to give too much thought to Auston’s contract, the media and fans were doing enough of that.

She had enough going on in her life. Maddie had started to sleep through the night then she started teething. Taylour was wild and energetic, always busy with Felix, wanting to see Brody from down the street or Carter from his class, and still impartial to Maddie. He might have stopped asking “when is she leaving’ but he has shown no interest in his sibling, sometimes becoming frustrated when his parents are busy changing her diaper and need a minute before giving him attention.

Tia has read books, spent hours online reading blogs and stories from other moms in similar situations, trying everything to get them to bond without forcing it, and it’s just not working. She always saw herself with a big family, but more importantly a loving family, how can they be one when Taylour is generally disinterested in her?

And if it’s not the kids, or Felix’s limp that sporadically appears for a few hours, it’s her line. She used TikTok to advertise and sales erupted. She found herself with a massive list of pending orders, stores in Montreal, Toronto, Brooklyn, and Scottsdale were reaching out to stock her pieces. Made with Grace expanded from a spare room with a sewing machine, to a studio space with a business manager, marketing manager and two additional seamstresses, but even then she doesn’t feel like she can keep up.

So, when Tia told people she didn’t really have time to stress over his contract, she wasn’t lying. It’s not to say they hadn’t talked about their future; they just hadn’t sat down and fully weighed out the options.

She told Auston she would follow him anywhere, that they’d be happy so long as they were together, and she meant every single word but Toronto is a part of her, a part of them, and it would break her to leave it all behind. It’s where both of their children were born, where Taylour learned to walk and talk, where Maddie will learn all those things, where they found each other but more importantly themselves.

Tia wanted Auston to be as objective as possible with his decision, but she knew she had to tell him of her preference.

“And right here.” Judd points to the line at the bottom of the page and Auston once again scribbles his signature. He then flips the final page over, then smiles.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Judd nods. “You are going to be a Maple Leaf for four more years.”

Auston did give some thought to free agency. There are a few teams that have the cap space to meet his needs, and those that don’t would likely move some parts to make it work. He had options, lots of options, but none of them would send him down York Street after practice, right past her studio. And if he didn’t drive past then studio then he couldn’t stop in and raid her snack drawer, lie about needing a button fixed just to sneak in a kiss or two, or just watch his wife hard at work. He wouldn’t be able to take Maddie and Felix on walks through the park where he first felt Tia come back to him, nor could he drive past his old condo where they finally said what they had been holding onto for so long. They couldn’t go to dinner at Beck’s and Camille’s condo, which is actually Tia’s old condo, and see the exact spot where he first held Taylour.

Toronto is home. That was the only reason he needed.

“Tia and the family must be excited.”

“They will be.” Auston smiles wide and grabs at the beak of his hat to adjust it. “I decided to keep this from them, thought it’d be a nice surprise.”

“It will be.” The two men move toward the door where Judd slips into his shoes. “Don’t celebrate too much,” he winks, then steps outside, leaving Auston alone.

He quickly whips his phone from his pocket and opens twitter. Without so much as a second thought he types up a tweet, his first tweet since March. The second he posts the tweet; he is sharing it on his Instagram then heads for the sliding door.

The Arizona heat blasts his face the second the door opens. Felix’s nails on the concrete are heard as he eagerly scurries over from the pool, leaving wet pawprints all over the patio. Auston crouches down and scratches him behind the ears and chuckles when his warm tongue presses to his cheek.

“I know, I’m excited too.” Auston grins, scratching the pups head. “Should we go tell them?” Felix’s tail wags faster and he lets out an excited yip. “Yeah? Let’s go.”

“Hey T.” Auston starts as he sits on the edge of the pool and dangles his feet in the water, Felix plops down beside him for more pets.

“Hey, how was your meeting?” Tia wades through the waist deep water with Maddie on her hip and makes her way to the edge. When Maddie sees Auston her tiny fists open and close, and some incoherent babbles come from her lips. “Is that Daddy?” Tia bounces her a few times before handing Maddie over to him.

“Hi princess.” Auston hooks his arms under her armpits, then brings her in close, peppering her with kisses, hoping to hear one of those giggles she had been letting out as of late. “Meeting was good.” Auston blows a raspberry to her stomach, laughing when her legs kick out.

“Daddy, watch!” Taylour stands at the edge of the pool with his toes hanging over. His arms go up above his head, and he jumps into the air and dives into the water. When he pops his head up a few seconds later, he spits out some water and smiles.

“Wow, you’re getting good at that.” Auston replies, adjusting the brim of Maddie’s bucket hat to fold up and be out of her eyes.

“You weren’t even watching; you were paying attention to Maddie.” Taylour protests.

“I can do both Taylour.” Auston informs him. “But why don’t you show me another one?”

“Fine.” Taylour rolls his eyes and starts swimming to the edge of the pool.

“Hopefully you gave Maddie less sass than him,” Auston jokes. This time he cradles Maddie in close and locks his gaze on Taylour as he positions himself at the pools edge to dive again.

“It’s not funny.” Tia mutters while clapping for Taylour when he pokes his head up after another dive.

“Your dives are great Taylour, arms are really straight.” Auston encourage him.

“Mhm.” He proudly smiles while treading water. “You want to play basketball?”

“Give me five minutes and I’ll get my bathing suit on.”

“Okay.” He swims over to the shallow end to retrieve the basketball, that catches Felix’s attention and he jumps in the pool, splashing the three of them, and starts to swim over to Taylour.

“His reaction is perfectly normal, he is adjusting, just at his own speed. You see Instagram?”

“When would I have seen Instagram?” Tia laughs.

Auston unlocks his phone and hands it to her, forcing her focus away from Taylour. Her forehead creases and lips purse as she scrolls through the posts, wondering what exactly she is supposed to be looking for. “Yeah, Mommy is silly, isn’t she?” Auston uses his baby voice to ask Maddie when she coos in his arms. Unable to wait any longer, he takes the phone back and clicks on his story.

She closes his story, then opens the Toronto Maple Leafs page and sees nothing. She searches Wasserman hockey, but again there is nothing, along with Sportsnet, TSN and ESPN. She keeps opening pages, trying to find confirmation of his somewhat cryptic post. Fed up, Auston snatches his phone back which brings her gaze to him.

“You re-signed?” She asks, in disbelief.

“Yeah.”

Butterflies swarm her stomach. “Four years?”

“Yeah.”

“And you broke the story before anyone else?”

“I was excited.” Auston shrugs, letting his smile grow even wider.

Tia puts her hand on either side of his thighs and pushes herself up. Beads of water roll over her breasts - larger than normal from breastfeeding - down over her stomach and baby weight she can’t seem to shake no matter how hard she tries. Once at eye level with him, Tia presses her lips to his, joyful tears clinging to the corners of her lashes. With Maddie in one hand, Auston brings his other to her hair, wet from the afternoon in the pool, and welcomes the kiss. It’s soft at first but slowly builds to more, his fingers tighten in her hair and her tongue move about his mouth. He can feel the relief wash over her body.

“I’m so happy.” She whispers, choking back tears. “I really wanted to stay.”

“I know.” Of course, he knew. “But you should have told me.”

“Everyone had opinions, I wanted you to make the best decision for your career.”

Auston runs his thumb along her jaw. “You’re the only opinion that matters to me.”

Tia dressed herself in a flowy maroon dress with thick straps. It stopped right at her knee and had a slit that went a few inches up her thigh. She pulled her hair into a simple but stunning bun and managed to apply a little bit of make-up before Maddie woke up from her nap. She fed and changed her, then put Maddie in the newly released mauve coloured polka dot dress with ruffled sleeves along with the matching headband.

She wasn’t overly dressed up (that wasn’t an easy task with unexpected dinner plans and a five-month-old) but the second Auston saw his girls his breath was taken away. He kissed her, almost a little too hard and long, but pulled away then helped load the kids in the car.

They met his family at Modern Oyster Bar & Chophouse. Auston reserved part of the restaurant which provided privacy for their celebration. Tia and Auston kept their phones on silent and tucked away - everybody who knew them was texting to congratulate them, and they just wanted to enjoy the night. And tucked under his arm with cheeks sore from smiling, Tia was doing just that.

“We’re staying in Toronto?” Taylour probes.

While he begs Tia to take him to every game (even road ones), plays hockey, will show Auston YouTube clips and basically lives and breathes the sport, trades and free agency is all very new to him. He doesn’t understand why Uncle Mike isn’t going to be in Toronto anymore, why he has pictures of Daddy and Uncle Freddie both wearing Leafs jerseys, yet Fred plays for another team, and he certainly doesn’t grasp that there was the potential for them to leave Toronto.

“You sure are.” Brian tells him, gently bouncing Maddie on his thigh, smiling as drool rolls down her chin.

“Maybe without that stress you two can plan your wedding.” Ema beams over her glass of wine.

Auston feels Tia’s body stiffen ever so slightly, but he just laughs. Since the day Auston told his mom he was going to propose Ema has been asking about wedding plans. Once Tia had said yes, she became relentless, never missing an opportunity to ask when the date will be. She understood why they didn’t plan it for last summer given the uncertainty COVID brought and kind of let up once they announced their pregnancy with Maddie, but on more than one occasion Ema brought up how there was months between Tia’s due date and the summer. When Tia and Auston told her they just wanted to enjoy this time as a family without the added stress of planning a wedding, she understood, then tried to get them to lock down a date in 2024.

“Yeah. Maybe.” Auston shrugs.

“Have you even looked at venues?” Brey asks, not in a curious way but a condescending and annoyed way.

She always has been skeptical of their “engagement.” Given her brother declared he was going to marry Tia after one date, FaceTimed with the family at least a dozen times while out shopping for rings because it had to be just right, blew up the family group chat making sure everyone knew not to say anything and to act normal so she wouldn’t suspect anything, then spent the entire day pacing and on the phone ensuring every single detail was perfect, she expected a very short engagement. So, when they reply “we’re not in a rush” anytime someone asks, accidentally call each other husband or wife only to backpedal and say something along the lines of ‘we live together and have kids, were basically married’ it didn’t make sense, and Brey is determined to get the truth out of them.

Auston drops his lips to Tia’s ear and whispers, “should we just tell them?”

Tia cranes her head and squeezes his hand under the table. “No.”

He gently kisses her. “You sure? Make this a lot easier?”

“Make what easier?” Brey cocks her head and narrows her gaze.

Tia and Auston smile at each other as she mindlessly spins the black metal ring on his index finger. The ring she put there over two years ago when they did get married less than 24 hours after getting engaged, because neither one of them wanted to wait. But because all their friends and family couldn’t be there, they kept it a secret. That’s why Tia doesn’t wear her wedding band outside the house (except when she forgets to take it off) and why Auston wears his wedding band is on the index finger and not the ring finger.

Auston turns to Brey with heat flaring behind his cheeks and playfully smirks. “Nothing.”

The kids went to his parents and Auston and Tia ubered home. One glass of wine lead to two, which lead to three, and that was where Tia stopped. Her tolerance had dropped since having Maddie and anymore would have made her a mess and Tia didn’t want to be a mess tonight (unless the mess was made from Auston’s cum).

It didn’t take long for them to get to bed, and it was even less time until his head was buried between her legs, greedily bringing orgasm after orgasm to her. When she finally made him stop because her legs were trembling and vision was turning white, Tia found herself on her knees, attempting to return the favour, but Auston didn’t let her finish. At the last second, he roughly grabbed her hair and brought her in for an incredibly sloppy kiss.

“Lie down.” Auston instructs her, nipping at her lower lip.

“No.” Tia breathes out before roughly pressing her lips to his.

“T -”

“I said no.” Tia repeats, then yelps when Auston spanks her.

“I signed the contract; I should get to decide how we celebrate.” His voice is thick and gravelly, as he tries to maintain control.

“I gave birth to your children so if I say I’m not getting on my back…”Tia pushes away from him and sits on her heels. “I’m not getting on my back.”

Auston shifts on the mattress, his shoulders cracking in the process. This dominant behaviour from his wife is new and relatively uncommon, but fuck does it ever turn him on.

In one quick motion Tia spins and puts her back to him with her knees on either side of his hips. Using her hand, she strokes his throbbing cock over her entrance, coating it in her slick. He grabs at her ass cheeks, the only thing he can, and they both moan when she fills herself with his length.

“Shit baby.” Auston chuckles. Tia starts to move, up and down on his cock, getting faster and faster while her ass bounces along with her. “You feel so good.”

“You always fuck me so good.” Tia cries when Auston moves his hips.

“Isn’t that what a good husband should do?” He spanks her again then grunts as her pussy tightens around his cock. “Properly fuck their wife?” He thrusts upward, wincing as she claws at his thighs for support.

“Yes.” Tia whines. Auston slaps her ass one more time for good measure then grabs at her hips. He has no intentions of trying to control the pace, she is doing that just fine on her own, he just wants to touch her. He always wants to touch her.

“So, I’m just doing my job Mrs. Matthews.”

Tia’s walls pulsate around him. She loves when he calls her that almost as much as he loves saying it. She wishes they could announce it to the world, then she could legally change her name to match him and their children, even Felix has his last name. Most of the people in their lives would be so happy they wouldn’t even care about missing one of the biggest moments of their lives. Not Ema. She of course would be happy, but she would be disappointed to have been excluded and Tia she can’t live knowing she disappointed the only mother she’s ever had.

“Making sure my wife is taken care of.”

Tia flips her hair to look back at him over her shoulder and whispers in the most innocent of voices, “keep it up and I’m gonna ask you to put another baby in me.”

Auston lets out a shaky exhale, he loved watching Tia be pregnant.

He lifts his hips up, making her fall forward until she is gripping his knees for stability. “I’ll do it.” Auston smacks her ass once again, earning himself a loud, excited yelp. “You just tell me when.”

At this point, Tia didn’t know how Auston was keeping it together, she didn’t know how she was keeping it together. Every single thrust was perfectly placed, brushing up against her g-spot, nudging her closer and closer to her release. Her nails were carved into his thighs, sweat was rolling down her back, down his chest, the sounds coming from their lips were feral, animalistic, but they kept fucking.

He watches himself disappear inside her walls a few more times then grips her hips and holds her on his member, pouring his hot, sticky seed inside – just the way she likes. Her walls grasp and hug his cock, and she can’t help when her eyes see static.

It takes a few minutes for either one to move. There is a lot of panting and muttering of curse words, hands gingerly trailing over the others sticky skin. But when Tia finally finds the strength to lift herself off his now softened cock, Auston wraps his arms around her body and pins her tight to his chest.

“I love you T.” His voice is hoarse.

“I love you too, Aus.”

Taglist: If you are in this list you have expressed interest in the series (either through likes/reblogs or by asking). If it’s crossed out your tag didn’t work. If you would like to be removed or added to the list send me an ask:

@youtxbemusic@nicoleloveshockey@emsully2002 @hockeypuckspottspot @ashleymarine@albal321@b34ut1fulb4st4rds@biznastysloneshift12@burkylover@c-tangerine@canadian-girl87@crazzyfann @dana-hqy @delighttfulll@evawest5@every-beautifulthing-thereis@greendragonzz@heatherawoowoo@hockeybabe87@hockeyinaussie@hockeyisit@hockeypuckedmeup@je-ne-regrette-rien@jakekisska@partypoison00 @princesscameston @puccbunni @queenmarvel21 @sixmapleleafs@starswin@trashforbarzal@0kikina0@1-fuzzy-squirrels@janeydeaux@stuff4me2do@callsign-denmark @monnbc @simpgirl-lat@huneyjojo221 @idfan21 @elly-dx@samanthasgone@holyalfalfasprout@lwstuff @mattyzmarner @ashloveshockey

132 notes · View notes

leafs-lover · 1 year

Text

Too Far Gone - Part Forty Eight

Series Masterlist

Warnings: brief mentions of drinking, a curse word or two

Word Count: 3700

The next few weeks were somewhat of a blur.

Tia continued with weekly therapy sessions, classes, working at Celeste’s store all while preparing to launch her line. She photographed her friends in the pieces she was content with and kept working on one’s couldn’t get quite right. She even had time to take Taylour to one of Auston’s morning skates.

With very few road games to kick off the new year, Auston found himself with more time than normal. He and Taylour ventured to the aquarium one day and over to the Spezza’s for a playdate another. There were dinners with the newly single (and somewhat bittered) Fred, movie nights with Morgan and Mitch, nights in bed with Michelle or Olivia - a girl he recently met through Raya.

Life was just easy, almost too easy.

Maybe that’s why Auston threw a wrench in everything and asked her to join him at the Leafs charity gala. It didn’t make sense for her to go. It didn’t make sense for Auston to take his ex and not Alex who was in town for a few days. It didn’t make sense that he was going to drive across town to pick Tia up, to then drive back past his condo to the Royal York. She told him all this when trying to say no, then he brought in reinforcements – Taylour – because she can’t say no to him.

“You’re unnecessarily stressing,” Becks offers, staring up at the ceiling while aimlessly spinning the desk chair in circles. After seven text messages Becks made the decision to go to her friends house, hopeful her presence might calm her down. It didn’t.

“Unnecessarily stressing?” Tia bites, shooting daggers at her friend through the mirror.

“It’s a charity gala –“

“Leafs charity gala. That means fans, media…I don’t know why he thought that would be a good place for me.” Tia pulls the mascara wand out and begins spreading it over her lashes.

“Nobody will even notice you,” Becks sighs, the chair squeaking with every spin.

“Nobody will notice me?”

Tia snaps and aggressively shoves the wand back inside the tube. She doesn’t mean to talk to her friend this way and under normal circumstances she wouldn’t, but Tia feels off and that has her on edge.

The likely explanation is she is anxious about the Gala, but if she’s being honest, it started days, if not weeks before he asked. She doesn’t even know how to describe it or what she is feeling. It tends to be sporadic, a momentary flash of something unknown but sometimes it comes as a tidal wave that all but consumes her.

The more time she spends trying to understand it, the more frustrated she is becoming because it doesn’t make sense. It comes when she’s around Auston and when she is alone, at work, in the shower, even in class. It’s a rhythmic pulse with every beat of her heart, a tingle in her hands that ripples up her spine with every breath. All the frustration is bubbling over into other aspects of her life and Becks just happens to be in the line of fire.

“I’m showing up with Auston Matthews, first overall draft pick and starting centre. Anyone showing up with him would draw attention, but I had a picture on the front page of every newspaper. How the fuck won’t people notice me?”

Becks stops moving, halting the low squeak of the metal and sits up tall. “Obviously, they will see you, you’re not invisible, but they won’t care about you. They are only interested in is the players! Geez, you’re so fucking cocky,” Becks mumbles the last part with a playful yet smug smirk which only makes Tia laugh.

“I hate you,” Tia grabs a pair of socks from the laundry she has yet to put away and softly lobs them in her friends direction.

“No, you don’t,” Becks awkwardly bobbles the socks before they land on the floor.

“Is this too much? Not enough?” Tia stands a few feet from Becks, letting her take in the completed hair and make-up.

Her hair is kept relatively simple, down with a slight curl that bounces with every step. Make-up is more than she would normally wear, foundation, bronzer and highlighter providing a dewy glow against her rosy cheeks, with a bright red lip.

“You look great,” Becks smiles at her, “especially this.” She grabs the hem of the satin robe Tia is wearing that barely drops below her thighs. “I’ve heard showing tits and ass is a good way to blend in.”

“Yeah…years working as stripper prove that to be false,” Tia grins and swats her friends hand away. “I don’t know what to wear.”

“Yes, you do,” Becks snickers and finally emerges from the chair. “You spent weeks sewing it and tearing it to shreds.” She makes her way over to the rack with all the items Tia has designed and grabs the black dress. “You’re wearing this.” Tia moves to speak, but Becks quickly puts a hand up and waves her off. “Don’t even try to fight me on this.”

Auston hates how busy he is. Ever since they walked in, he has been pulled left and right. Larry Tannenbaum, Kyle Dubas, somebody from MLSE, fans wanting pictures, and just when he thought he had a moment, Mitch found him. He’s barely had a minute to himself, even worse, he’s barely had a minute for Tia. Every time he caught a glimpse of her, she was silently slumped in a chair, slowly swirling the ice in her glass. It made him feel like an ass for inviting her only to abandon her.

To make matters worse she isn’t at the table anymore. He hasn’t seen her walking across the floor or standing at the bar. Time continues to tick by and he is becoming more concerned about her whereabouts. Last time his date disappeared at this event it didn’t end well.

“Sorry Mitch, I got to go find Tia,” he cuts him off part way through a story about Zeus, or was it his brother? Auston was barely paying attention.

“Oh, Tia’s here. You guys bring the little man?” Mitch perks up.

“No, he would hate everything about this,” Auston softly laughs. “Not being able to run around like a menace, having to wear a tie and not being fed chicken nuggets for dinner. It would be a horrible night for him.”

“Yeah, I feel that,” Mitch sighs.

“Of course, you do,” Auston grins.

It wasn’t difficult to find Tia when he was able to look for her. She hadn’t ventured far, tucked in with a small group of women. She was so caught up in the conversation she didn’t see him at first, but when she finally noticed him weaving through the crowd in his crips navy blue suit, the faintest of pink began to hit her cheeks.

“I can’t believe you made this.” Victoria's jaw drops, taking in the asymmetrical one-shoulder floor length black gown she is wearing. There is a peek-a-boo cut-out in the front, scooping down over the curve of her breast, along with a twisted back with an even deeper cut.

It was a lot of work. She spent weeks going back and forth, pulling out the stitching and considering setting it a flame. This type of item, a classic, elegant piece is not something Tia has much experience with. If it wasn’t for her senior project requiring one, Tia wouldn’t have even considered making it. And if Auston didn’t invite her tonight it would have ever worn it.

“It’s really incredible,” Tessa adds in.

“What’s incredible?” Tyson asks as he, Morgan, Fred and Auston approach the group, each with a drink in hand.

“Tia made this dress,” Victoria gushes.

“Really? That’s amazing,” Morgan wraps an arm around Tessa, and places a soft kiss to her temple. “Matts said you were in fashion but didn’t know you made your own stuff.”

“Yeah,” Auston throws an arm over Tia’s shoulder and pulls her tight to his side. “My girls pretty amazing.”

My girl. Something about that has her dizzy.

Just when she thought she could fall over at any moment, a full-blown smile appears on his lips, and Tia knows she is fucked. Absolutely, royally fucked. The glimmer in his eyes the same as their first date, the warm flutter in her stomach the same as the first time he told her loved her. She can feel her heart rate increase and her throat goes dry, suddenly starved of all moisture.

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Tia quickly fumbles out, her hands getting clammy.

Almost unphased, Auston removes his arm and sets both drinks on the table then sets his sights on the woman clinging to Morgan. “I have a bone to pick with you,” Auston says, somewhat seriously.

“With me?” Tessa’s eyes go wide in shock, they did just meet after all.

“Tony,” Morgan warns, knowing exactly where he is going. “Leave her alone.”

“Russel Westbrook!” He almost yells.

Tessa’s eyes enlarge and a crooked smirk pulls on her lips. She thought this was a real issue. “I told him to go, he wouldn’t listen!”

“WHAT?!” Auston turns to Morgan with a gaping jaw. “She told you to go and you still didn’t?!”

“She was only here for a couple days,” Morgan shrugs, tightening his arm. “I wanted to spend that time with her.”

“Unbelievable,” Auston takes a sip of his drink and shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he addresses Tessa. “I’ve been blaming you this entire time but turns out your boyfriend is just a softy.”

“Pot, meet kettle,” Morgan claps back and shakes his head. Regardless of what he may be willing to admit, Morgan knows Auston has done the same, if not more for the woman making her way to the bathroom.

With one foot in front of the other, Tia swears her heart is beating louder than the music in the club on a Friday night. But with every step she took, it only was more drowned out by the defeaning ring that floods her ears. She feels herself stumble with every step, the blood in her veins is getting hot and her entire body is becoming sticky.

Once in the bathroom she forces her back against the heavy door and takes a deep breath, trying to make sense of the night. The first bit was somewhat awkward as she sat alone, but it was turning around. John and Aryne were polite, Victoria and Tessa were friendly and engaging. None of the fans seemed to notice her, let alone connect the dots on who she is.

She hadn’t felt that feeling she has spent so much time fixated on, more importantly she hadn’t even thought about it, she was actually having fun. Then, like so many times before, it came back more powerful than ever and practically knocked her off balance.

Just when she is about to open the floodgates and release everything that has built up, a soft voice calls out, “Tia?”

Muttering under her breath for not checking that the room was empty, she wipes away the tears at the corners of her eyes and looks up to see the last person she wants to. Steph. Peering back at her through the mirror, her blue eyes are flooded with what appears to be genuine concern.

“You okay?” She asks, fluffing her hair. She may not know Tia well, but it doesn’t take a genius to know out something is wrong.

Yeah,” Tia lies. “Just didn’t realize how tiring this event could be.”

Steph laughs awkwardly. “These events always are, and they aren’t the most exciting either. The players have family feud or whatever entertainment MLSE conjures up, the fans get pictures and alcohol, and we,” she groans slightly while keeping a perfect little smile on her face, “we smile and nod, shake hands with everyone and take pictures for them.”

“Yeah.” Tia nods. Tia turns on the water and let’s the cool stream hit her hands, just what she needed.

“Good news is, if you keep coming around these things get easier,” she says with a chuckle, a slight heat in her cheeks from the wine she has consumed.

“Probably won’t be.” Tia reasons, wondering where this side of Steph has been. She always thought Steph was nice enough, but that there was also a fakeness to her - a front she put up, and this is the first time Tia thinks she is seeing the real person underneath. “If Taylour isn’t here it doesn’t really make sense for me to come to this stuff.”

“Right.”

Tia can tell there is more Steph wants to say, but bites her tongue. With a quick nod and a fake smile, one that anybody could see through and walks out the door. When finally, alone, Tia breathes out a sigh of relief.

The music is loud, Mitch is laughing over something just on the other side, but’s it’s all somewhat muffled through the door. Not enough to leave Tia with her thoughts but just enough to remind her of what is waiting upon her return. A part of her wonders how long she can stay in the bathroom before Auston sends out a search party. She is a mess, if breathing wasn’t instinctual, she wouldn’t be doing that right.

“Hey Tia.” In walks Tessa, her long brown ponytail swaying with every step, the ends kissing the back of her satin green dress. “You know, your boyfriend is something,” Tessa laughs and walks up to the vanity and pulls out her lip gloss. “He tries to act tough but you can tell it’s all a show.”

“We’re not dating, he just hates attending these things alone,” Tia explains after a long exhale, butterflies swarming her stomach.

“I totally get that,” Tessa begins spreading a light pink shade across her lips. “These events can be dry, it’s nice to have someone to lean on and help get you through it.”

“You seem to be doing fine,” Tia mumbles. It’s her first time here and every time Tia saw her, she seemed to be enjoying herself, more importantly everyone seemed to be enjoying her. A loud infectious laugh and a genuine smile that never seemed to fall, she fits right in.

“I’m an Olympic Ice Dancer, I’ve been attending similar events for years.” Tessa returns the lips gloss to her bag and leans closer to the mirror, using her pinky finger to clean the edges.

“Of course, your unbelievably talented as well as stunning.” Tia opens her purse and begins to apply her own lip gloss.

“Says the girl that made this dress,” Tessa smiles gently.

Tia wasn’t anywhere near ready to return but she had hidden for about as long as she could. A part of her wished Auston wouldn’t be there, that they would just catch glimpses of the other for the rest of the night. He normally grounds her, but she worries he will see that she’s drowning.

“Tia?” She hears the familiar voice call out from behind. “You get lost?”

“Yeah,” she half-heartedly smiles. “Something like that.”

“Well don’t.”

“Sorry,” Tia fakes a laugh.

“You’re supposed to be giving me a break from the same boring conversation with the same boing people,” Auston teases. Grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, he tugs her across the hall towards a group that has been patiently waiting for him all night.

“I won’t get lost again,” she fumbles out.

With his voice low he stops walking and lets his lips dip down. Bringing a moment of solitude in the sea of chaos. “Good.”

As the night continued on, Tia somewhat settled. She still had moments where bile caught in her throat but then she’d see that goofy little grin or he’d playfully nudge her with that all too familiar laugh and it’d all wash away.

As he moved about the room getting pulled into conversation after conversation, he brought her with him and kept her close, gently drawing over her back or reassuringly squeezing her hand. It was subtle, natural, touches most people likely didn’t even pick up on, Auston didn’t even know he was doing it, but Tia felt everything. Not just on her back or shoulder, but in every part of her. He was calming yet igniting her.

Dinner and wine were brought out, between some speeches there was a game of family feud with current and Leaf alumni. While Auston and Morgan were on the stage, Tessa slid into the seat beside her, asking about her clothes and Taylour.

She is so easy to talk to. Tia easily could have told her entire life story in that half-hour. Once the game was over though, Tessa was up and out of her seat being pulled left and right. It was wild to her how she had never heard of her, yet everyone wanted a minute with her. She is a huge deal, brought an energy everywhere she went. Tia didn’t know how one person could stand out in this environment, yet she managed too, and did it perfectly.

“Hi Tia,” she hears a somewhat familiar voice from behind her. Setting her phone on the white tablecloth, Tia looks over her shoulder to see Fred and his perfectly styled red hair contrasting the royal blue on his suit. “How’s your night going?” He slides into the seat beside her and encroaches her personal space.

“As good as it can be,” she replies monotonously, glancing down at her feet. “You?”

“It’s good. I see you still love him.” Fred wastes absolutely no time diving in, tearing off the band aid.

Tia eyes close and she lets out a deep breath. The silence lingers for a minute while she mulls over his words. “I don’t,” she croaks out.

“You sure about that?”

Tia doesn’t know Fred all that well, but it quickly realizing he is a “no bullshit” type. Something she normally would respect, but right now hates.

“Yes. I know how I feel.”

Fred nods and takes a second. While their interactions have typically been brief, Fred always was good at reading people. Tia isn’t all that different. The stiffening of her back, clicking of her jaw, heavy exhales after every question. She has wiped her clammy hands on her dress to remove the sweat twice and looks like she wants to curl into her shell. She is hiding something.

“I can see it in how you look at him.“

“Why do you care so much?” Tia snaps, a little harsher than intended.

“He’s my best friend, and I want him happy. He’s happy with you.”

It’s such a simple response, one that Tia should have expected but it catches her off guard. “That’s not true,” Tia whispers, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“No?” Fred nods his head in Auston’s direction, who has one arm on the bar but both eyes on them. Tia’s heart skips a beat when that goofy boyish grin she used to love crosses his face, but it quickly brings the uneasy feeling from before.

“He only smiles like that around Taylour and you.”

“That doesn’t mean –“

“Would it matter if I told you he loved you too?” Fred probes.

That hits a chord. Almost instantly she snaps her gaze to his, dark piercing eyes. Every part of her wants to shrink under his stare, but she kept her eyes dead-locked on him, waiting. She doesn’t know what she wants the response to be. Either one threatens to break her heart.

“Does he?” She finally speaks.

“Maybe,” Fred focuses in on something behind Tia and drops his voice. “But that tells me you do.”

His woodsy cologne fills the air before she hears his voice, and she knows who Fred is staring at. “Can I have my date back?” With a soft nod, Fred smiles and leaves them, but Auston doesn’t fill the seat. “Want to dance?” He holds a hand out for her.

“Uh.” Tia’s eyes dart over his face where she finds his adorning eyes full of hope and sighs. “Nobody is really dancing.”

“So,” he shrugs.

Tia knows he won’t take no for an answer and accepts his hand, letting him pull her to the dancefloor. With one hand on her back, above her waist, he links his other with hers and starts to guide her around the dancefloor to the slow music. They aren’t the only ones dancing, but are one of the few, and Tia begins to wonder if people are staring as much as she thinks. They aren’t.

He holds her tight to his chest, the smooth material of his expensive suit feels nice against her skin, but it’s the only part of her that does. The hand on her back is low. Ring and pinky fingers dipping dangerously beneath the cut of her dress.

In his arms used to be a place she felt safe, secure and at home, but as she tries to process everything from tonight it’s suddenly foreign to her. Every fifth step there is a slight fumble or stutter, sometimes from Auston but mostly from Tia which he tries to ignore. Tia used to take dance and in Zurich was always giggling over his missteps, quietly whispering pointers to him. On top of that, she spent year as a stripper, walking and dancing in heels significantly taller than the ones she currently has on. It doesn’t make sense for him to be the better dancer of the two, but he is.

“Thank you for coming.” She doesn’t have to turn her head to know he is smiling, she can hear it. “I don’t know if I told you, but you are absolutely stunning in this dress.” His voice is rough like gravel, and Tia is weak. If he wasn’t holding her, she’d surely collapse.

“You did.” Tia cranes her head to his and let’s out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding.

“Good.” His lips sweetly press to her temple, lingering a little longer than they both know they should. “I’m really happy you’re my friend.”

Auston continues to spin Tia around the floor and she tried her best to keep a brave face, but for some reason that bothers her. The air in her lungs is ripped out of her lungs and each breath hurts the back of her throat and all that remains is something she is no stranger too: disappointment.

@youtxbemusic @nicoleloveshockey @emsully2002 @hockeypuckspottspot @ashleymarine @albal321 @b34ut1fulb4st4rds @biznastysloneshift12 @burkylover @c-tangerine @canadian-girl87 @crazzyfann @dana-hqy @delighttfulll @evawest5 @every-beautifulthing-thereis @greendragonzz @heatherawoowoo @hockeybabe87 @hockeyinaussie @hockeyisit @hockeypuckedmeup @je-ne-regrette-rien @jakekisska @partypoison00 @princesscameston @puccbunni @queenmarvel21 @sixmapleleafs @starswin @trashforbarzal @0kikina0 @1-fuzzy-squirrels @janeydeaux @stuff4me2do @callsign-denmark @monnbc @simpgirl-lat @huneyjojo221 @idfan21 @elly-dx @samanthasgone @holyalfalfasprout @lwstuff

30 notes · View notes